ROYAL CARRIBBEAN - Giovanni's Italian Kitchen

Andddddddd we’re cruising!!

It’s my first cruise and I’m here with my friend from college, Karie. Since it’s my first cruise, we’ve decided to splurge a little and we’ve gone in for the UNLIMITED DINING PACKAGE which comes as multiple entrees and multiple specialty restaurant visits every night of sailing, lunch at specialty restaurants on sea days plus discounts on wine at dinner. I’m not really a drinker but food is the reason for vacation so I’m all in. There are 3 specialty restaurants on the FREEDOM OF THE SEAS ship that we’re sailing on for our 4 night cruise so we can hit them all plus a CHEF’S TABLE dinner (for an extra $50 but more on that to come).

I’m so excited. We made our trip’s worth of dinner reservations as soon as we got settled onto the ship. We can still check out the buffet at breakfast tomorrow but let’s see what these specialty restaurants have in store.

Tonight is night 1 and we’ve decided on going to GIOVANNI’S ITALIAN KITCHEN and get filled with carbs to fuel our day at Coco Cay tomorrow. We got seated right away in the second room closer to the pizza oven and we were the only one in that dining area so it felt like a fun private dinner for most of the night. Our server, Clinton, was super sweet and was very chatty since he didn’t have too many tables. He told us that night 1 is usually quieter because people are still getting settled so it’s a fun night to eat because we get more attention from the staff and I’m so happy about it because Clinton was amazing. I want to go back there just to see him again. In terms of food, it was pretty basic Italian, nothing to write home about, but you really can’t go wrong.

Every meal is started off with their signature AMORE DELLA CUCINA which was the garlic cheese knots topped with parm. It came with pesto, tomato basil ragout and herb marinated olives. You can’t go wrong with garlic knots and they were so warm and soft. A great start to the meal.

Karie wanted to split the ASSORTED MEAT & CHEESE PLATTER which I was fine with but it honestly felt more like basic deli meat and felt kinda meh. It was supposed to be mortadella, porchetta, prosciutto, salame, ham, gorgonzola, mozzarella, olives, breadsticks, and focaccia. The focaccia was a letdown because it was just a toasted piece of whatever bread but the mozzarella helped it out at least. Overall, not a great option.

For our main, we both got the LINGUINE CON LE VONGLE which was just linguine, fresh clams, olive oil, parsley, and white wine. The portion looked small on the plate but it was actually filling (as an overall meal) and I finished all of the pasta and felt comfortably full. There was just enough clams to balance well with the amount of pasta and I was pretty happy with the choice.

I wanted to share one dessert but Karie ordered TIRAMISU CLASSICO AND PANNA COTTA ALLA ROMANA which was a pistachio panna cotta topped with blueberries and basil. Both were good, the panna cotta tasted odd but we figured it tasted like it was made with coconut milk. It was still a good balance to the coffee in the tiramisu though.

So, overall, this was a pretty good meal. Nothing amazing, but it didn’t disappoint (aside from the deli-meat-like board) and was perfectly filling. Clinton pushed it over the top with his great service and fun conversation the whole night and if I had to pick, I would go back just for him.

CORT - Dasher's Corner Pub

It’s my birthday and my parents have come to town to visit me for the day. We’ve just been driving around and spending time together but decided to go out for a birthday dinner. There aren’t a ton of choices in town and decided to go to Dasher’s Corner Pub since it’s right by our apartment.

LOCATION: 2 N Main Street, Homer, NY 13077

I’ve been to Dasher’s with Caleb before but we’ve only gone for lunch so their dinner menu is new to me. We got there a little before 6pm so my parents could go home after dinner and not have to drive back to Rochester too late and we were seated upstairs in an empty dining room. Caleb and I have only ever been seated downstairs in the back room which can be a little cramped and loud especially when there’s a big party at their long table. It was really nice to be in a quieter space upstairs that was more spacious. The building is pretty old though and you can feel the slanted floors more so upstairs which is kind of funny to eat in.

My parents treated me and I decided to order the Scallops Pépin which is seared scallops on fresh croutons and potato slices with lemons, capers, and a brown butter sauce. Clearly it came with a side of asparagus as well. I don’t typically get to order seared scallops in the area so I was so excited to get this and it came out looking really fun and unique. The scallops were perfectly cooked and the dish was so well portioned. The ‘croutons’ on the bottom were so rich and buttery though so I ended up leaving a few slices of that in the end but ate all of the scallops and potatoes as well as the asparagus. I was perfectly full at the end and it was really nice to have a ‘fancy’ meal like this which made the day feel special. While the food at Dasher’s isn’t mind-blowing, it’s still a nice place to go for dinner and the quality is worth the price (which isn’t unreasonable at all) and it feels fancy enough to be special and out of our ordinary. It was really great to spend the day with my parents too so it was a really good finish to a nice birthday.

CORT - Wild Ginger Asian Fusion

I’ve decided to mix things up today and order something a little different from Wild Ginger for lunch!

LOCATION: 47 MAIN ST., CORTLAND, NY, 13045

I’ve been craving Takoyaki but unsurprisingly, it’s quite difficult to find in the area. For those unfamiliar, takoyaki is a is a ball-shaped Japanese snack made of a batter, cooked in a special pan. It’s typically filled with minced or diced octopus. I did a little bit of research and today is the day, of course Wild Ginger would offer it as an appetizer! I decided to order some with a side of Tomago (egg) sushi and my classic Ika (squid) sushi. I usually get Ebi (shrimp) sushi but was really craving the eggy flavor and texture today instead too. A real wild card of a lunch compared to my usual.

This lunch turned out to be EXACTLY what I was hoping for. The sushi was standard and, while not my usual, it’s nothing new to me from this restaurant either; just a little out of the ordinary but always a classic choice. The takoyaki was so good! It was warm and gooey on the inside but crisp on the outside. The flavors were totally balanced and the texture was what it should be. Very happy with this choice and it might be my new regular order!

UPDATE: It’s about a week or so later and I’ve gone back because I love takoyaki and this is a great order. Unfortunately, things did not go well today when I went to pick up my food and I’m hoping it was just a fluke but now I’m hesitant to keep getting this order. Typically, I place my order online and walk over to the restaurant (a quick walk down the street from the office) and I time it well enough to grab and go. Today, I had to wait an extra 30mins after my estimated pick up time for my takoyaki to come out while my sushi just sat on the counter waiting for me. I FINALLY got my food after a couple of people checked in on it and when I got back to the office with it, my takoyaki was cold and deflated. I have a feeling it was cooked and just sat in the kitchen slowly dying while the front of the house neglected it. It seems there’s a risk in me ordering sushi + hot food. I’ve never had this issue with I get my usual sushi rolls since it’s all coming from the sushi counter. I have to rethink the logistics of this now which is making me very sad since my first experience with the takoyaki was so good.

ROC - Tai Chi Bubble Tea (SUSHI BURRITOS!!)

That’s right. I’ve taken the plunged and finally tried a sushi burrito. It’s been a big step.

I know these have been a thing for a few years and I’ve seen them before but I’ve never had any desire to eat one. I’m JUST starting to get into raw sushi and pushing my food boundaries because whenever I watch videos/shows and people are eating sushi it looks so good but honestly, there’s only so much shrimp/eel/crab I can eat and it never feels as satisfying as raw sushi looks.

Then, introduce the idea of a sushi BURRITO which doesn’t FEEEEEL right. The point of sushi is to eat it in one bite and get a little bit of everything at once for the perfect flavor combination. A burrito is just impossible to do this with because you can’t get everything in one bite, it’s too large! I’ve had this discussion with a couple of my co-workers and they seem more open to the idea of a sushi burrito so I told them to try it and let me know if it was worth it, since a location of Tai Chi Bubble Tea opened nearby. One person took my up on this challenge. She took one of her sons (who loves sushi) to Tai Chi as a mother-son date day and they got sushi burritos for lunch and also ordered bubble tea for the first time. She said while it was messy (her son completely unwrapped the paper around the burrito and it disintegrated in his hands) she told me it was worth a try and not a bad experience overall. Since she went through the trouble of taking up my recommendation (and challenge) I promised her I would, in turn, give it a try.

It’s taken me a little bit of time but I’ve done it. I had to be in the mood for sushi and today was the perfect day. I’ve met up with one of my best friends, Julia, in Rochester and we went out for sushi burritos on this swelteringly hot day in May and it was a lot of fun.

I based my burrito on one of their pre-built burritos and modified it a little. Their ‘signature’ SALMONopoly is Spinach, Salmon, Spicy Salmon, cucumber, avocado, edamame, corn, carrot, spicy mayo, masago, and fried onion. It seemed difficult to me to put things like corn or edamame in a burrito and not have it fall out but they make it so customizable, that whatever floats your boat - goes. So, from the top, I ordered a Sushi Burrito with white rice, (skip the greens - i.e. lettuce, spinach kale or red cabbage), Spicy Salmon, cucumbers (for crunch!), avocado, (shredded) carrot, spicy mayo, masago, and fried onion and of course a seaweed wrap (you can get this with a tortilla to make it more burrito like. Looking back now, I wish I’d gotten some Tamago to fill it out a little more because it was very wet and could’ve used something else that was solid and absorbent.

Overall, our sushi burritos were pretty good. They looked smaller than expected when they finally came out but they were actually super filling and I was a couple of bites short of finishing it. My co-worker was right, you have to keep the paper on and peel as you eat or else it will disintegrate seeing as it’s a seaweed wrap that breaks apart as it gets wet. The last few bites of each half that I had were thoroughly a mess and the sauce and some fillings were seeping out but luckily the paper caught it all and i kept my hands pretty clean. I didn’t actually have an issue with not getting a little bit of everything in each bite. It worked out okay and it tasted as good as generic sushi would taste so I can see myself getting one of these again if I’m in the mood for sushi. Sushi burrito’s aren’t so bad after all.

ROC - Juicy Seafood

I’m going to start off by reminding everyone that I live in upstate/central/western New York (whatever you wanna call this region) and it’s a terrible thing when you crave seafood, but we find a way.

I’ve been watching Try Guy (Food Babies) videos involving seafood boils and amazing cajun flavors (curse them for living in LA with their abundance of good food) and I think it’s quite clear that I’m susceptible to wanting to eat food I see in videos. Advertisers must love me.. they get me all the time.. but it’s unfortunate living where I do and loving seafood because aside from lakes, theres not a lot of fresh catching to be had here, so I do take this review with a grain of salt.

I’m back in Rochester for the weekend and found a free lunch where I could order whatever I want. Cue the seafood craving that’s been brewing for weeks. I tried to do a quick yelp search and read some quick reviews and ended up at Juicy Seafood.

LOCATION: 3020 S WINTON RD ROCHESTER, NY 14623

Of course I had to order a bag of seafood boil. I placed an order on the phone and boy did the person who picked up talk fast. It took me a second to get up to speed but it was pretty simple to place and order for pick up and they were speedy about it all too.

I decided to quell my craving by ordering a little bit of everything and went with a Combo B which is 1/2lbs Crawfish, 1/2lbs Shrimp (no heads), 1/2lb of Snow Crab Legs and of course 1 corn on the cob and 2 potatoes (they snuck me in some extra and I wasn’t complaining). I also got this with their Juicy Special seasoning which is just a combination of all their seasonings (cajun, lemon pepper, and garlic butter) and I chose a hot spice level for that extra kick. Go big or go home.

Honestly, the quality of the seafood was a little disappointing but it’s Rochester in February so do I really have a right to complain? I’m not really setting myself up for success here but cravings will be satisfied!! I still happily ate everything in this seafood boil by myself and I was stuffed and happy as a clam by the end. The snow crab and the crawfish were as good as I could hope for under the circumstances but the shrimp actually blew me away. It was soo flavorful and juicy and there were solidly quality shrimp. The hot special sauce was great. It was a builder and I had to take a few breaks (bless the corn and potatoes) but it was such a good sauce and they gave me a container of extra sauce on the side which I happily dipped every piece of seafood into fully. I even saved the rest of the sauce and had it with some rice and some home-cooked shrimp for leftovers.

I think if I play my cards right and go in the summer, the quality of seafood might be better just based off of the seasonality of it. The seasoning was so good and the cook on all the food was perfect so I didn’t have any issues with that. Worth going back to if this is what you’re craving and you happen to be unlucky like me and live in a landlocked area.